Just like the original, AT&T now has a so-called TAP (Text Accessibility Plan) all set up for the iPhone 3G that'll offer unlimited messaging and data to folks with disabilities. Interested parties do need to fill out a qualification form, meaning that your average able-bodied customer isn't going to be able to get in on the service -- and unfortunately, it's undergone the same $10 facelift that the regular plans have suffered, meaning subscribers will now be paying $50 a month ($65 for enterprise use) instead of the $40 that was being charged previously. By the way, we're shaking our fists at the heavens right now, cursing inflation, market forces, and corporate greed.

Although AT&T has had a specialized plan for the deaf and hard of hearing for some time now, the iPhone has been unfortunately unable to take advantage. No longer will that be the case, as said carrier has just implemented the Text Accessibility Plan for iPhone, which provides unlimited texting, unlimited data usage, $0.40 per minute pay-per-use voice and Visual Voicemail. Granted, the iPhone TAP does cost $40 ($10 more than the vanilla TAP), but you are getting limitless texts (versus 5,000) and Visual Voicemail thrown in -- not that those inclusions really warrant the extra Hamilton. Nevertheless, those with adequate documentation can get their iPhone on the plan right now, just click the read link for details / instructions.

Just as Japan announces that it'll pretty much have an eye on every single cellphone user in the nation, Korea is going against the grain somewhat by offering up an anti-eavesdropping service on users' handsets. SK Telecom, KTF, and LG Telecom will all be offering private long code service, a digital encryption system to keep voice snoopers at bay, and will dub the service "Voice Private." Marketed primarily towards people of utmost importance, such as politicians, public officials, journalists (ahem), and CEOs, the luxury will purportedly operate on any mobile phone and will cost between W1,500 ($1.60) and W2,000 ($2.13). Interestingly, it wasn't noted if these fees were a monthly charge (less likely) or a per-call exaction (more likely), but regardless, the service should go live just as soon as the Ministry of Information and Communication approves it.

While we figured the NYPD could just install Magic Message Mirrors in every mafia hotspot in the Manhattan area, the Genovese family has proven quite the eagle-eyed bunch when it comes to spotting wiretaps, tailing, and other (failed) attempts of bugging their conversations. In order to tap into critical conversations by known mafioso and other, less glamorous criminals, police are utilizing a "roving bug" technique which remotely activates the microphone of a crime lord's cellie, giving the boys in blue convenient access to their secret agenda(s). The presumably controversial tapping was recently approved by top US DoJ officials "for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques." Software hacks (and actual phones, too) have previously allowed such dodgy eavesdropping to occur, with "Nextel, Samsung, and Motorola" handsets proving particularly vulnerable, but this widespread approach in tracking down criminal conversations could hopefully pinpoint future targets where prior attempts failed. Of course, if mafia members hit the internet every now and then, they're probably removing those batteries right about now anyway.